Fundamental Methodist Conference, Inc.

The Fundamental Methodist Conference, Inc. is a body of independent Methodist congregations organized in 1942.

This group was instituted at Ash Grove, Missouri in 1942 under the name "Independent Fundamental Methodist Church". In 1944 the title was changed to "Fundamental Methodist Church, Inc.", when the first annual conference was held.

The Fundamental Methodist Church traces its origins through the Methodist Protestant Church to the Anglican reformation of the Wesley brothers, John and Charles. The three major Methodist conferences in the United States - the Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal South, and Methodist Protestant churches - united under the name "The Methodist Church" in 1939. The union was attended with dissatifaction among people in all three groups. The John's Chapel Church (formerly part of the "Methodist Protestant Church") of Lawrence County, Missouri withdrew from "The Methodist Church" on August 27, 1942 and elected a committee to draw up a constitution and by-laws for Fundamental Methodists. On August 23, 1944 the first annual conference was held in Greene County, Missouri with 3 churches representing. The church was chartered on February 27, 1948.

Unlike most Methodists, the churches of the "Fundamental Methodist Conference" do not baptize infants, though dedication of children is retained. They also only observe immersion for baptism. Since they do not regard baptism as the door to the church, they will receive members from other churches who have been baptized by sprinkling or pouring. Government is more congregational and less connectional than generally practiced by Methodists. Each congregation owns its property and calls its pastors. The church has no bishops; the annual conference elects a "District Superintendent" and a "Secretary-Treasurer".

In 2001 there were 814 members in 13 congregations, all of which are located in southwestern Missouri. The church maintains headquarters in Springfield, Missouri and holds its annual conference at the "Fundamental Methodist Conference Grounds" near Ash Grove in Lawrence County, Missouri. This body is a member of the American Council of Christian Churches.

External links

* [http://are.as.wvu.edu/christv.htm The American Religious Experience - Methodists]
* [http://www.geocities.com/dentonemc/methodism.html Divisions and Reunions in North American Methodism]

References

*"Handbook of Denominations (6th ed.)", by Frank S. Mead
*"History and Discipline of the Faith and Practice of the Fundamental Methodist Church (1980)"
*"Minutes of the Fundamental Methodist Conference, Inc., 2001"
*"Religious Congregations & Membership in the United States, 2000", Glenmary Research Center